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Mayawati

Mayawati, born on January 15, 1956, is the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and the first dalit woman to hold the post in any Indian state. Influenced by dalit leader Kanshiram, Mayawati joined active politics when the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed in 1984. She first won a Lok Sabha seat contesting from Bijnor constituency in 1989. After three short tenures between 1995 and 2003, this is her fourth term in this office. She stormed back to power in 2007 assembly elections winning absolute majority with the support of Brahmins, Thakurs, Muslims and members of other backward classes, the first by any party since 1991 in Uttar Pradesh, despite allegations that she had used her status to amass a large amount of personal wealth. In 2002-2003, Mayawati was charged with misappropriating funds in the controversial Taj Corridor project, which led to discovery of assets allegedly disproportionate to her known income.